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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24363508">Hitman</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaStarSeeker/pseuds/LunaStarSeeker'>LunaStarSeeker</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/moji964/pseuds/moji964'>moji964</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hermitcraft RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(more tags to be added as we go), Doc's tired and just about done with Grian, Don't touch Scar's crystals (we're looking at you Grian), Gen, Hitman AU, Iskall has a backstory, Iskall p a n i c s, Perma-death AU, Scar and Grian bickering ASMR, TBH so is Xisuma, TFC is a dad, and its out to get him, and mumbo too, and so is Joe, but its complicated, everyone has powers, semi-realistic AU</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:22:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,468</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24363508</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaStarSeeker/pseuds/LunaStarSeeker, https://archiveofourown.org/users/moji964/pseuds/moji964</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Everybody has a unique ability. Some are more useful, and others may just be for show.<br/>But if you end up with the shortest straw, you might receive an ability that's considered more of a curse than a gift.</p><p>Iskall thought he’d escaped his bloody past, finding a new home in the Hermitcraft community. But when Grian uncovers his true ability, it invites all sorts of trouble and forces Iskall to finally face someone he hadn’t seen in a long time, someone who’d rather have him powerless.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>uh none</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>228</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Are… Are you seriously going to try this?” Iskall sighed, glancing down at the short hermit. “You know that Doc’s hellbent on getting that red belt.”</p><p>“Heh, I know. But I still need an orange for my collection.” Grian poked his head around the nether portal, spying the button, and the scientist guarding it. About halfway between the portal and Doc was Jevin, who was chatting with Xisuma about something or other. Perfect.</p><p>Iskall sighed, shaking his head at the builder. “Alright, well I’m going to head to Mumbo’s, so good luck I guess.” He handed Grian some slime balls and Grian gave him a couple diamonds in return. He then began to calmly walk over to Mumbo’s portal, and just as he got there, he heard a yelp.<br/>
Grian had made his move.<br/>
He turned around to watch the chaos that unfolded, a bittersweet smile on his lips.</p><p>Grian had sprinted forward and tapped Jevin’s shoulder, scaring the life out of the slime hybrid. He then kept sprinting forward in a mad dash to press the button and in a couple seconds, Doc had tackled him, pinning him down on the bedrock.</p><p>“You almost got there this time, Grian.” Doc muttered. “From what I just gathered, you had a 20% success rate.”</p><p>“You didn’t calculate right.” Grian giggled and suddenly the cyborg blinked, the meter refilling and spitting out an orange belt.<br/>
Doc whipped around to see how Grian had pressed the button- he had him pinned on the ground for god's sake! “Oh you little-”</p><p>Another Grian stood by the button, small at first until he started absorbing the slime balls Iskall had sold him moments earlier. The OG Grian, who was still pinned by Doc, tossed an ender pearl over to the clone. As soon as the two made contact, they merged back into one, before rocketing away on an elytra.</p><p> </p><p>Iskall sighed. “Copy Clone. Grain loves showing off his power.” He muttered to himself, glancing to Xisuma who looked rather confused as to what just happened.</p><p>“That’s the third time this week.” Jevin rolled his eyes, a light smirk on his face. “I think Grian’s a bit jealous of my ability.”</p><p>“That’s for sure.” Doc grumbled, dusting himself off. “A vertically challenged Hermit like him would be envious of your ability to change size. It only makes sense that Grian would copy your power so much. I hate to admit it, but Grian’s finding ways to outsmart me.”</p><p>“That’s just impressive.” Jevin sighed, lamenting the loss of the orange belt. “Given… y’know.”</p><p>“Don’t have to rub it in.” Doc pouted. “It hurts- the resident genius being outsmarted by the chaotic force that is Grian.”</p><p>Iskall laughed to himself and stepped through the portal, ending up at Mumbo’s place. He needed to unwind after adding yet another branch to the Omega Tree and getting caught up in the details of it all was, well… stressful. He’d need to add leaves to it at some point and part of him dreaded the task. It would take so long.</p><p>He pushed the thought away as he spotted his fellow redstoner sitting on his “stress seat” which was basically a hopper hooked up to a few chests.</p><p>Mumbo was muttering things to himself, thumbing through some blueprints as he sat on the hopper, his legs crammed into the tiny space.<br/>
“Hey dude, you cool?” Iskall asked, walking over. Mumbo only really sat on his stress seat when he was, well, stressed.<br/>
As the redstoner could conjure up the dust at will, it often spiralled out of control when he was upset. Hence, the invention of the stress seat. That way he’d at least be collecting redstone while he worried about… whatever Mumbo worried about.</p><p>The redstoner sighed, gesturing to the blueprints before slumping down in his hopper. “This slime machine is getting on my nerves. I can’t figure out what’s wrong with it and I’ve tried everything I can think of.” He gestured to a jumble of slime blocks and pistons in the corner of the room. “It’s supposed to be for a bamboo farm, but it’s frustrating me.”</p><p>“I, uh… I can see that.” Iskall bent down to check the chests, his eyes widening in shock at the amount of redstone that was inside. </p><p>“Wow, two double chests of redstone dust.” Mumbo said, peeking over Iskall’s shoulder. He paled. “Wait- oh crap, <em>two double chests</em> of redstone dust.”</p><p>Iskall saw the rate of the redstone dropping in the third double chest increase as Mumbo saw just how much redstone he had collected. “Mumbo you spoon, you’re stressing about being stressed! Honestly, that’s a new kind of meta.”</p><p>Mumbo let out a nervous laugh and combed his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, maybe.”</p><p>“Here, I’ll take a look at the machine while you calm down enough to not be constantly producing redstone.” Iskall strode over to the slime machine and began to inspect it, looking it over for mistakes that would cause it to break down like it had.</p><p>Before long, he had found the issue (a backwards observer) and pulled Mumbo out of the hopper. Iskall had opened his mouth to speak before he perked up, staring at the door.<br/>
Grian was just outside.</p><p>“Mumbo!” Grian grinned as he practically kicked the door open, despite there not actually being a door. The orange belt he nicked from earlier had been added to his growing collection and Iskall had to force himself not to roll his eyes at the builder's antics.</p><p>“Oh, hey Grian.” Mumbo said, pulling the redstone dust out of the chest and taking it over to his crafting table to compress into blocks.</p><p>Grian cocked his head. “That’s a lot of redstone. You were on your stress seat again, weren’t you?”</p><p>“Maybe?” Mumbo twiddled his thumbs. “I was just stressed cause I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the slime machine for my bamboo farm.”</p><p>Iskall snorted. “Good thing I came over when I did. He was two double chests full at that point.”</p><p>“Blimey Mumbo!” Grian rolled his eyes. “You can ask for help sometimes.”</p><p>Mumbo sighed, giving a sheepish smile. “You know how good I am at that.”</p><p>“You’re such a spoon.” Grian laughed, seemingly bouncing over to the stress seat. He took a couple stacks of redstone and headed over to the crafting table. “You’re lucky Iskall came over to help, instead of TFC or Joe.”</p><p>Mumbo gave a shrug. “No hiding anything from them. With TFC’s built-in lie detector and Joe’s empath ability, they’re the ultimate Dads of the server.”<br/>
Grian grinned. “Good thing you’re stuck with us, huh? After all, we’re <em>so responsible</em>.”</p><p>“That reminds me.” Iskall said, nudging Mumbo with his elbow. “You won’t believe the stunt Grian pulled off earlier.”</p><p>“Really?” Mumbo asked.</p><p>Iskall pointed to Grian’s infinity belt. “See for yourself.”</p><p>“It was nothing. Fourteenth time’s the charm!” Grian showed off his orange belt to Mumbo, who raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“Wow, mate. Just one left to go.” Mumbo put the redstone blocks in a chest before turning to the builder and sitting on the crafting table. “Tell me <em>all</em> about it.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>To his credit, Mumbo was amused by Grian’s antics. <br/>“Really? That actually worked? Did you have to tell Jevin to be there?”</p><p>Grian puffed his chest out proudly. “Nope! It just happened like that. I had to pester Iskall to meet me in the Nether so I could pull it all off though.”</p><p>“I was confused when he asked for slimeballs.” Iskall laughed, “But I got paid so I can’t really complain.”</p><p>“You got paid for helping Grian with one of his shenanigans?” Mumbo said, surprised.</p><p>Iskall faltered “Well… when you put it that way….”</p><p>“Point is, I got the orange belt!” Grian chimed in, a smile in his voice.</p><p>“Y-yeah.” Iskall locked away the thoughts that were surfacing. Mumbo was just surprised, was all. It’s not like he knew. The past was in the past, there was no need to dwell on it now.</p><p>“You good mate?” Grian asked Iskall. “You look a tad uncomfortable.”</p><p>“I’m fine, just tired.” Iskall lied, “Watching you pull that off was too much excitement for me.”</p><p>Mumbo shrugged and put the last stack of redstone blocks away in his chest. “To be fair, I’m a bit knackered as well.”</p><p>“Well, I guess you two should get some shut-eye, huh?” Grian said, shrugging. </p><p>“I’ve still gotta add leaves to the branch I added today.” Iskall protested, whining like a child.</p><p>“Maybe I could pull in a favor from Scar to help.” Grian suggested. “He did help with my mansion, I’m sure he’d be thrilled to give you a hand.”</p><p>“You sure Scar wouldn’t mind? It is a huge task after all.”</p><p>Grian gave Iskall a Look. “You really feel like doing it all on your own?”</p><p>“Absolutely not.”</p><p>“Then let me ask Scar if he’d mind helping. I’ll help too, if you’d like.”</p><p>Before Iskall had a chance to protest, Grian had rocketed off, no doubt on his way to find Scar.<br/>He ran a hand down his face as he sighed and cast a glance at Mumbo.</p><p>“Listen dude, I have about as much control over him as you do.”</p><p>“I don’t have any control over him!” Iskall complained.</p><p>Mumbo laughed. “My point exactly. He’ll probably not bother Scar too much-”</p><p>He was instantly cut off by a very loud, rather annoyed shout from Scar. Which was impressive, considering Scar was quite a ways away. “GRIAN!”</p><p>“You were saying?”</p><p>“Oh shush. Lets just go see what the damage is.”<br/>The damage was obvious from the second they set foot in Scar’s village. A massive crater in the landscaped hill was flickering with embers from a dying fire, the stone scorched and blackened from the explosion. And a very sheepish Grian stood in the center.</p><p>“Grian, what did you do?” Mumbo asked, sighing.</p><p>Scar answered for him. “Turns out Grian’s touchiness doesn’t just apply to levers and buttons. It also applies to <em>incredibly dangerous</em> magic crystals as well.”</p><p>“In my defense, they were just lying out in the open!” Grian protested. “How was I supposed to know?”</p><p>“Because I was terraforming. You know I have to put the excess energy somewhere, right?” Scar scolded. “If the crystal is a primary color, that means it’s holding a lot of power. I told you this at the beginning of the season.”</p><p>“I know, but it didn’t look that dangerous.” Grian whined, twisting his hands together as he mumbled.</p><p>“It was bright red, Grian.” Scar deadpanned.</p><p>“It’s a tiny crystal!”</p><p>“Ok, ok- please stop fighting. No one was hurt, right?” Iskall cut in, giving Grian a pointed stare that practically shouted ‘shut up.’</p><p>“I mean, my wheelchair miraculously survived, if that’s what you mean.” Scar answered. “And the blast scared Jellie off again, but she’s a resilient girl.”</p><p>“Aside from my pride, I’m good.” Grian mumbled.</p><p>“Good,” Mumbo clapped his hands as if that finished the argument, “We were wondering if you’d mind helping Iskall with the leaves for his giant tree.”</p><p>Iskall frowned. “It’s the Omega tree, Mumbo. Of Doom. Omega Tree Of Doom.” </p><p>“Right, that. The Omega Tree of Doom.” Mumbo rolled his eyes.</p><p>“Sure, growing leaves on wood is pretty simple, I wouldn’t mind.” Scar said. “But I’m gonna need a hand getting up there, and <em>no Grian I’m not letting you fly me up there</em>, not since you dropped me last time.”</p><p>“It was one time! And I didn’t know my elytra was about to break!”</p><p>“And it nearly killed me and Jellie.” Scar grumbled as he glanced around for his cat. Who was doing a marvelous job of blending into the greenery. Which was an impressive feat, considering Jellie had a lot of bright white fur.</p><p>
  <em>“Guys please.”</em>
</p><p>“Sorry Iskall.” Grian and Scar chimed at the same time.</p><p>Iskall checked his inventory. “The stairs in my Omega Tree Of Doom are almost finished, I can put the last few steps in when we get there. It might be a bit bumpy, but you can manage, right?”</p><p>“Absolutely. As long as someone’s behind me so I don’t roll backwards. And also maybe help push me up.”</p><p>“Alright, I’m gonna head back to my base.” Mumbo said. “Grian, mind if I drag you with? I actually have a couple things to test out, and I know you had that Guinea Pig shop last season so…”</p><p>“Will I get to flick levers?”</p><p>“Yes, you will get to flick levers.”</p><p>“I’m in!” Grian smiled as he bounced from foot to foot, eager to get started.</p><p>“Great, we’ll see you two tomorrow, I guess?” Iskall asked.</p><p>“Yeah. See you guys tomorrow.” Mumbo answered, before trying to take off.</p><p>Grian did his best to withhold a snicker as Iskall sighed, facepalming before speaking up. “Mumbo, your elytra?”</p><p>“Oh for goodness sake-” Mumbo’s ears turned red with embarrassment as he equipped the man-made wings. “I’m just- I’m just gonna-” He took off quickly, leaving a trail of firework sparks in his wake.</p><p>“Okay, see you guys tomorrow, I’m gonna make sure Mumbo doesn’t fly into any-”</p><p>A distant thud sounded, squawks of parrots crying out as the birds took to the air among shaking leaves. “OW”</p><p>“...Trees.” Grian finished before sighing, taking off much more elegantly than Mumbo did.</p><p>“Well, guess we should head over to the Omega Tree Of Doom?” Iskall said, taking his eyes off the horizon where the birds were still flying away.</p><p>“Yeah. I just wanna know that Jellie’s safe first, if that’s okay with you.” Scar hummed before he made his way through the village to find his cat.</p><p>“Want a hand?”</p><p>Scar nodded. “That would be very much appreciated, thank you.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It didn’t take long to find Jellie once Grian flew after Mumbo, the cat emerging from the shrubbery as if summoned once Scar really started to worry.</p><p>Scar quickly looked over Jellie, making sure she was okay. Aside from a little bit of ash on her fur, she was pretty much unscathed.<br/>
“I’m glad you’re safe, Jellie.” Scar smiled as he pet the cat sitting in his lap. She meowed and started to purr as though nothing was wrong.<br/>
“Yeah I really shouldn’t leave those crystals around, shouldn’t I.” </p><p>“You can talk to animals too?” Iskall did a double take at Scar. </p><p>“Nah, that’s just Beef, I think. I just like to pretend she understands me.”</p><p>“Oh so it’s a cat owner thing?”</p><p>“You could say that.” Scar answered with a simple shrug. “I think it’s more of a pet-owner thing.”</p><p>“Makes sense, I guess. Should we get going to the Omega Tree of Doom?” Iskall suggested.</p><p>Scar scratched Jellie behind her ears. “Sure!”<br/>
He let Jellie hop off his lap and watched as she amused herself by rubbing up against the legs of the villagers wandering around the small village. Occasionally, one of them would bend down and give her scraps of food.</p><p>Reassured that Jellie would be safe (and made a mental note to patch up the crater Grian made) Scar turned to Iskall and nodded as the two slowly made their way to Iskall’s giant base, the empty branches scraping at the sky.</p><p>Iskall stared up at the spiral staircase that wound up the trunk with a sigh. “Right, I just gotta finish up the stairs here to the top. Shouldn’t take me long.”</p><p>“Alright, I’ll go ahead and warm up.” Scar rolled up his sleeves and readied himself, little clumps of dirt already levitating slightly off the ground.</p><p>Iskall watched for a moment, how the dirt seemed to follow Scars every command, twisting through the air as the wizard quite literally sculpted shapes into existence. It was hypnotic, just how easy Scar could use his powers and for a moment, he felt a pang of sadness in his chest.</p><p>The moment was gone as quickly as it arrived and Iskall forced himself to focus on the stairs he needed to build, tearing his eyes from Scar and got to work.</p><p>The stairs themselves didn’t take long, but of course Iskall added a few details along the way. A support here, a small cluster of leaves there, and the staircase didn’t look so dead. It wasn’t anything near what Scar could do, but it was something. It was his own, and Iskall stared at it with a proud smile.</p><p>By the time he’d finished, the sky was starting to get a little darker, and Scar had thoroughly warmed up. Iskall glided down from the top of the staircase with his elytra, somewhat-gracefully landing near Scar, who’d built a tiny village out of dirt and stone. A few crystals were dotted around the ground, the larger ones pulsing faintly with red or yellow light. Some of the smaller ones blended in with the ground, barely visible among the tall blades of grass.<br/>
Iskall stayed far away from them, giving the shards a wary look.</p><p>Scar caught his eye. “Don’t worry, these ones aren’t as bad, as long as you don’t shake them like a certain hermit did.”</p><p>Iskall stifled a laugh. “Tempting as it might be, I think they would make the worst maracas ever. So I guess we’ll begin then?”</p><p>Scar nodded, waving his hand and effortlessly flattening the village, turning it back into a regular mound of dirt on the ground. He scooped up a handful of crystals and pocketed them carefully, the faint light shining through the fabric. He made his way over to the bottom of the stairs, Iskall following close after and helped Scar up the oak stairs.</p><p> </p><p>The sky had turned a deep blue by the time the duo made it to the top, the faintest speckles of stars starting to dot the night sky as the sun lingered on the horizon.<br/>
Iskall made sure Scar was steady in the branches of the tree before he let go and wiped some sweat from his brow.<br/>
“That wheelchair is much heavier than I anticipated.”</p><p>“Maybe it’s because you also pushed me up a giant flight of stairs.” Scar teased, the easy kind of banter that happened between friends. </p><p>“That too,” Iskall laughed “Or maybe you need to lose some weight.” He shot back, though there was no malice in his voice.</p><p>“Well now I’m tempted to not do the leaves for you.” Scar humphed as he crossed his arms and looked away with an overly dramatic scowl.</p><p>“Aww come on man, I pushed you all the way up here already.” </p><p>“I’m teasing Iskall,” Scar grinned “Do you have any ideas for how you want this to look yet?”</p><p>Iskall shrugged. “I have one branch done, but I’m probably going to redo it soon. The leaves on it look too sparse and I ran out of supplies faster than I anticipated. I was kind of hoping you had an idea, I’ve seen the trees in your village and I like how droopy the leaves look.”</p><p>“I can work with that.” Scar nodded. He pulled out a small clump of dirt and quickly sculpted a mockup of the tree, the leaves shaped out of grey stone. “How’s a shape like this?” He asked as he looked up at Iskall for approval.</p><p>“That looks good, you don’t mind if I run downstairs, do you? I have a shulker of leaves I meant to bring up and forgot about because of the stairs. I’ll be quick about it.”</p><p>“Yeah, of course. I don’t mind,” Scar answered, “I’ll get started on one of the empty branches.”<br/>
He carefully navigated the uneven branches as Iskall started to leave.<br/>
“While you’re down there, if you have any glass you’re not using, could you bring it up here too? It’s much easier to store the energy in.”</p><p>“I think I have some, I’ll go check.” Iskall answered, dropping down into the trunk of the tree.</p><p>“Thanks Iskall.” And with that, Scar was alone in the night, the stars overhead and a cool breeze on the wind. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he pressed his hand to a branch nearby and encouraged it to grow some leaves, pushing some of the energy from the crystals in his pocket into the branch.</p><p>It was one of the few ways to safely dispel the energy, and Scar preferred to not have to keep track of tiny bombs. Of course, the bigger ones were pretty much impossible to get rid of, so Scar kept them safely locked away.</p><p>The branch dutifully sprouted a few leaves, though they were patchy at best. The wizard smiled and removed his hand, shaping the leaves into a fuller shape for Iskall to build on. Trees were always temperamental when it came to terraforming, so Scar was happy with what he managed to get so far.</p><p>By the time Iskall returned with the glass and some more leaves, another branch was nearly complete, leaves filling the empty gaps and giving the dead tree some life.</p><p>“Scar? This looks amazing.”</p><p>He could hear Iskall’s jaw practically hit the floor as he stared in shock at just how quickly the  wizard worked and how much better it looked when compared to his sorry attempt.</p><p>“The trick,” Scar noted, “Is to build a strong base to work off of first. So really, you did all the work.”</p><p>Iskall handed Scar the glass, which almost immediately began glowing blue when it came into contact with the wizard. Scar pulled out a shulker of his own and gingery set the crystal inside, muttering something about blue crystals and vexes.</p><p>“Well, time to never use that shulker again.” Scar grinned as he pocketed the now-glowing shulker.</p><p>“Is… are these crystals making up the entirety of your chest monster.”</p><p>Scar clammed up instantly. “I can neither confirm nor deny this. Must you tease a man about his problems?” He lamented with a fake sob.</p><p>“I mean, at least you’re keeping those crystals somewhere safe.” Iskall responded.</p><p>“Yeah, that’s true. Though with Grian as my neighbour, I’m not sure how safe they’ll actually be.”</p><p>“Maybe you should find that key to your KGOOMR.” Iskall suggested.</p><p>“I would, but it’s lost to the chest monster. There’s no hope for it now.” Scar sighed. “I’ll try to clean it up soon but it’s spilling out of Larry.”</p><p>Iskall shrugged. “I could help you with it, since you’re helping me with my tree.”</p><p>“Nah, I have a lot of crystals scattered in there, and I’d rather you not get hurt. Or anyone for that matter. Except maybe Cub, since he’s a little experienced.”</p><p>“Makes sense. Well if you need help with anything else, let me know.” Iskall offered with a smile.<br/>
“Oh right- here’s the leaves, by the way.” He set down five shulkers filled to the brim with leaves and Scar set to work sculpting them onto the branches so that the shape matched the little dirt and stone model still standing in the center.</p><p>By the time the shulkers were empty, the moon had already risen and was at the top of it’s peak.</p><p>Iskall watched as Scar stifled a yawn, his hands slowing in the air and the elegant lines of leaves shook and fell apart midair.</p><p>“Scar, you should head to bed.”</p><p>“You too.” Scar said, picking up another piece of glass, this one turning a vibrant green. “Oooo, that’s rare. They usually turn red, yellow, or blue.” He pocketed this one. “Green ones aren’t really dangerous, only causing nearby vegetation to overgrow when they explode. Never quite understood why.”</p><p>“So it’s like bone meal?”</p><p>“Yeah, I guess.” Scar shrugged. “I don’t get them a lot so I tend to not experiment too much with them.”</p><p>“Okay, but seriously, we should head to bed.” Iskall reminded him, stifling a yawn of his own.</p><p>“Going down stairs is harder than going up. Do you have an extra bed up here?” Scar asked as he made his way off the thinner branches.</p><p>“Um, no, but I can craft one up real quick. I have some extra wool. I’ll be right back.” Iskall jumped back down into the trunk again, dashing over to the crafting table and ran back up the stairs, an extra bed in hand.</p><p>When he finally got to the top, Scar was already dozing off, only half-awake in his wheelchair.</p><p>Iskall smiled as he set the bed down, carefully moving Scar from the uncomfortable position into the bed. Once he was sure the wizard was comfortable, Iskall walked over to his own bed and flopped down, not caring that he wasn’t even under the sheets. In seconds, he’d drifted off to sleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>We have a document we write these chapters in and I want you to know that it's already 15 pages long. ~Moji</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>There was a street.</span>
  </em>
  <em>
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      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>It was raining.</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>The hazy light from the lampposts reflected on the slick road and he was alone.</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Of course he was alone. He always was.</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>There were diamonds in his pockets.</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>There was a knife in his hands. When did he get a knife?</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>...Why did it look so wrong? A knife shouldn’t be bone white and brittle.</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>For some reason, the material of the knife felt familiar in his hand. The weapon fit just right, like it was made for him.</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>It was.</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>There were stars in the sky.</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>He knew this because the glassy eyes in front of him, the eyes of the dead body that was lying in the alleyway reflected them. </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>He did not look at the sky.</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>The white knife was stained red.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iskall woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for air and pretty much toppling off the bed. In his shock, he almost fell out of his tree, managing to cling onto the wood last-second with an undignified yelp.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmph- Iskall?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry Scar, didn’t mean to wake you.” Iskall apologized, pulling himself back onto the branch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Scar was sitting upright, rubbing his eyes and looking disheveled. “No, it’s okay-” He yawned, stretching his arms above his head. “-I was already somewhat awake anyways. You okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iskall stood up and winced, he was bound to bruise up later. “Yeah, just had a bad dream, that’s all.” In truth, it was more of a memory than a dream, but no one needed to know that. He shook his head, changing the subject. “Do you need a hand getting into your wheelchair?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think I got it.” Scar responded, carefully moving himself into the chair. “But thanks for the offer. Anyways, Good Morning!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good Morning Scar.” Iskall smiled a bit, already feeling a bit more awake. Besides, it was a new day, right? What was in the past was in the past. No need to dwell on it now. “I think I’m gonna head to the shopping district real quick, check my Iskallium shop.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, I can get down the stairs just fine, so go on ahead.” Scar gave him a nod.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iskall thanked him and equipped his elytra, gliding down to the bottom of his tree and hopping into his portal. He caught a glimpse of stars in the obsidian, constellations reflected in cloudy eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Iskall flinched and looked away. When he glanced back, they were gone, replaced by plain, shiny obsidian.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>He couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him through the glassy surface of the stone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It's just your imagination.” He muttered, stepping into the nether, the warmth almost comforting. Almost.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>If he could ignore the squelching sounds of the nether, just how similar it was to...no. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Don’t think about it. Don’t.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>The past is in the past.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, the thoughts were interrupted by an indignant shout from none other than Doc.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“C’mon! Green Team </span>
  <em>
    <span>again. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Next time someone snipes the button, they get to face the wrath of the Goatfather.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>As if just to spite Doc, False pressed the button again. Naturally, it didn’t give out any belt, but hearing Doc raging was worth it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Iskall felt a smile creep onto his face. At least that was something to cheer him up. He wondered which member it was. Probably Etho, sniping the button again on his way to check on Shady-E’s.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shook his head again and made his way towards the button, planning to avoid any drama and just get back to the Overworld quickly. Of course, the universe had other plans for him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay guys! Important, gather around!” Xisuma’s voice rang out, the Admin standing near the shopping district portal.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>False, Grian, Doc and Etho gathered around Xisuma, who held a notebook with each Hermit’s name and a small description of their ability. Most lines were still blank, and Iskall figured that the Admin had recently started the log. He also figured that this was not going to end well for him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p><span>“As some of you know, I’ve been going around here, making a log of everyone’s abilities and side effects in case anything happens that concerns them, whether it be a good or bad thing.” the Admin explained, turning to False first.</span><span><br/></span><span><br/></span><span>“Right. I’m not sure of the best way to explain it, but hyperawareness? Though if there’s too much going on at once, it can easily overwhelm me. A positive is that I can fight blindfolded, though.” She grinned, giving Doc a knowing glance. “Duel me later?”</span><span><br/></span> <span><br/></span><span>“Anything to get my mind off the button.”</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xisuma nodded, scribbling it down. “Okay. Doc?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Intelligence. That’s pretty much it.” Doc shrugged.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Any side effects?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“None that I’ve run into. Unless you count being annoyed by Grian as one of them.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Grian grinned. “You should.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>And he was promptly socked in the shoulder by Doc.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright you two.” Xisuma sighed good-naturdley and shook his head.. “I have noticed Doc tends to spout random facts occasionally, so I’ll put that down.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And he’s pessimistic.” Grian whispered to Iskall. Iskall shook his head, trying not to snort at how absolutely right Grian was. The cyborg was grumpy at the best of times.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, uh, Etho?” Xisuma moved on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Etho nodded. “I can control water, but I get cold easily.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You owned an ice shop a couple years ago though?” Grian mumbled, puzzled.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Yes. And I still own an ice shop and have my lovely Side Kit in an ice base. Your point is?” Etho shot back with a smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Grian blinked, for once not sure what to say. “Well forgive me if when one of the few times I’ve interacted with you, you almost gave me a heart atta-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Since you’re already talking, how about you go next Grian.” Xisuma interrupted, tapping his notebook with the pencil.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Copy clone. I can copy anyone's ability, but it makes a duplicate of myself. Not sure if that’s a downside or not.” Grian grinned, poking Doc. Another Grian popped into existence, rolled its eyes at the original Grian.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“You’re an idiot.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Yeah…We knew that already.” Grian stuck his tongue out at himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Doc rolled his eyes. “Luckily you can’t copy your own power, or else we’d have Grian’s running all over the place.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey I haven’t actually tried that!” Grian grinned. “Hey Smart me, would that work?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...No. Well actually… I think that might be a paradox or something, huh. Do you feel like possibly tearing reality apart?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sounds like fun!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What power above granted you with that?!!?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Xisuma cleared his throat and calmed down, praying internally that Grian would see the flaws in tearing reality to shreds. “Okay, Iskall?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Iskall felt like someone had just thrown a punch to his face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Shoot what to say, his ability was a curse, what to do what to d- </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Uh funny enough mine’s pretty much the same as False’s, just more mild and less powerful.” The lie tumbled out of his mouth quickly. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“It’s not as strong now cause I lost one of my eyes.” He awkwardly pointed to his mechanical eye, thankful the human lie detector that was TFC wasn’t here. Iskall never really did learn how to lie well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” Xisuma nodded and scribbled it down as a wave of relief swept through Iskall. “That seems about it. I’ll see you guys around!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A jab to his side brought him back to reality as the smart Grian mumbled in his ear. “Good thing Doc’s too preoccupied with normal me to notice your blatant lie. Lucky my thoughts don’t transfer over since they’re technically Doc’s ability.” And with that, the Smart Grian grabbed normal Grian’s wrist, disappearing quickly. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Iskall blanched at the words, his mind reeling with the notion that someone </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Grian seemed unfazed by the whole ordeal and if he knew what the Smart Grian’s thoughts were, he didn’t acknowledge it.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <span>Iskall breathed a more uneasy sigh of relief, glancing around as everyone went back to what they were doing. He shivered a little and stepped into the shopping district portal.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>He did say he needed to check the Iskallium shop after all.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Moji- This ones for you, Dot. &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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